Tag: Women’s Health

In college, I avoided the “bro zone” of the gym like it was a frat house after a rager. I was intimidated by the grunting, the weird machines, and the almost entirely male population outside of the cardio section and free weights. I didn’t want anything to do with their protein shakes and bro tanks. Instead, I used the cardio machines and would do the same one to two exercises with 8-pound weights every time I went to the gym.

But I really wanted to lift.

A taste of CrossFit was all it took to get me addicted to lifting heavy. After a couple of months, I was lifting more weight than I thought possible. Five years later, I regularly squat more than I weigh, and 25-pound dumbbells are my go-to. Today, I feel at home under the bar.

While there are great weight loss and calorie-blasting benefits of lifting heavy, it’s not why I do it. Weightlifting makes me care more about the weight on the bar than on my body. I work hard at the gym to push my body and mind. It’s about what my body is capable of, not what it looks like.

Lifting heavy, for example using a weight that you can only do 1 to 6 reps with, has made me battle the voice in my head — it’s far more crushing than any weight could ever be. With heavy plates on the bar, there isn’t room for self-doubt or negative thoughts. It takes all of my focus to step up, to stay in control, and to crush the lift.

Weightlifting makes me feel powerful. Confident. My lifting shoes are my “power heels.” When I hit a big lift, I’m unstoppable. I’m capable of moving the weight and handling the other challenges in my life. I walk down the street knowing the physical and mental strength inside of me.

The lessons I have learned in the gym bleed out into the rest of my life. They have made me a faster runner, a more independent person, and a confident woman. Before you get to the heavy lifting, here are a few reasons why you should take this on.

2. Get stronger

Heavy weights increase the power and strength of your muscles without significantly adding bulk or size, especially for women. This means that everyday physical tasks get easier, and consistent training will increase the amount of weight you can lift. You’ll look stronger, too. Strength training with heavy weights enhances your muscle mass and definition.

Hello Michelle Obama arms and Beyoncé abs!

3. Cut the fat

Everyone knows that exercise helps you to burn more calories, but according to Mayo Clinic, a regular strength training program can also help you burn more calories when you’re not in the gym. You get an “after burn,” where your body continues to use more calories in the hours following a workout. In addition to that, strength training builds muscle. That larger muscle mass increases the calories you burn daily without exercise.

Just like a double chocolate chip brownie, heavy strength training gives you a double reward when burning calories.

4. Build your brain

Heavy weights develop more than just muscle. Lifting heavy increases the production of many hormones, including the hormone IGF-1, which helps to stimulate connections in the brain and enhance cognitive function. In a recent study, leg strength was positively linked with stronger minds that are less susceptible to the negative effects of aging.

Simply stated: Strength training can improve your ability to learn and think as you age.

5. Prevent injury

Resistance training using body weight and with free weights, strengthens more than just your muscles. It also strengthens your bones and connective tissues. This added strength and stability will help you ward off injuries and keep a strong body. It can also help reduce symptoms of many conditions like back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain.

In this case, the game reduces the pain­ — the game of strength training, that is.

6. Improve endurance

It seems counterintuitive, but strength training has been shown to improve endurance, speed, and running economy (the amount of energy and effort it takes to do something like run a five-minute mile). A recent study showed that lifting heavier weights improves economy more than lighter weights. That extra weight on the bar will pay off during your next run or spin class.

8. Next steps

Learn how to get started with the weightlifting guide for beginners. Or, get stronger at any of your lifts with the Smolov program, a 13-week long guide to improving your squats of all types, and gain strength. All it takes is one lift to get started!
Follow these tips to stay safe in the gym:

Tips

Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning a heavy lifting program, especially if you have high blood pressure or any vessel disease.

It’s very important to use proper form anytime you are lifting, but it’s even more important when you are lifting heavy.

Meet with a trainer if you have never lifted, or if you have never lifted heavy weight, to get started. Ask them what weight you should start at to stay safe.

Pay close attention to your body and adjust lifting as needed to avoid injury.

It’s not uncommon to enter a typical commercial gym and see a vast majority of females confined to the cardio area while all the males are latching onto the nearest barbell.

It’s a shame that women often feel intimidated by the thought of lifting weights since the benefits of weight training far outweigh the benefits of cardio. Don’t take this to mean that cardio isn’t a useful part of an exercise regimen, but rather that cardio on its own is not going to build that shapely, toned body that most females desire.

Given this, we have constructed a list of the top ten reasons females should choose to get down and dirty with some iron as opposed to slaving away on the elliptical (or whatever cardio apparatus they choose to obey).

1. Accelerates fat-loss when combined with cardio

Having an exercise regimen that relies solely on cardio for fat-loss will eventually lead to stagnation as your metabolic rate will continue to drop as your body adapts to the demand you put on it. Therefore, the prudent thing to do is incorporate more bouts of weight training while keeping cardio to as low of a frequency as possible (while still achieving your fat-loss goals). In fact a study recently published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that concurrent training (combining weight and endurance training) greatly enhanced the metabolic effects of each mode of training on their own.

Essentially, you get more fat-loss from cardio when you combine it with weight training.

2. Increases calorie expenditure

Vigorous weight training actually boosts your metabolic rate throughout the day, which in turn makes you more efficient at burning body-fat when you’re not exercising. It appears that the primary mechanism for this is increased mitochondria in cells, via a process known as mitochondrial biogenesis. Mitochondria are basically the “powerhouse” of cells and by increasing these organelles you increase your metabolic rate/daily calorie expenditure. Numerous studies have illustrated that weight training greatly enhances such biochemical adaptations, while doing too much cardio can do just the opposite (decrease mitochondrial content in cells/lower metabolic rate).

When in doubt, opt for the iron over the treadmill… you’ll likely burn more calories in the end anyway.

3. Shapes your curves

Most females feel that the best way to shape their body and achieve a more toned look is by spending hours doing low-intensity cardio. The reality is that the best way to “bring out your curves” is to build strength and muscle. If all you do is constantly endure long bouts of low/moderate intensity cardio then you are basically lowering your metabolic rate while concomitantly losing muscle mass. In the end, you will have lowered your bodyweight but increased your body-fat percentage (i.e. you will look “skinny-fat”). Don’t give in to the idea that you need to be a “cardio bunny” in order to be lean and toned.

The more weight training you incorporate, the more shapely your body will be, and the fact that you will also be stronger will empower you.

4. More energy throughout the day

Weight training actually greatly improves your psychological well-being and enhances your sense of vitality throughout your daily life. It’s not uncommon to feel completely wiped out and lifeless after spending hours on the treadmill; lifting, on the other hand actually boosts “feel-good” chemicals in the brain. In fact, studies show that the heavy weight exercise protocols appear to greatly increase plasma beta-endorphin concentration, which in turn modulates mood in a positive manner.

If you find yourself stressed out, don’t hesitate to take some of that out on the iron… lifting can be very therapeutic.

5. Better heart health, blood lipid profiles, and insulin sensitivity

The heart is indeed a muscle (a smooth muscle) and it can be trained much like skeletal muscle. Most females assume that aerobic exercise is inherently the best way to train the heart and improve blood lipid profiles. While that is true, combining aerobic exercise with weight training actually has been shown to do those factors just as effectively, if not even more.

Not only does weight training reduce Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL), which is often referred to as “unhealthy” cholesterol, but also it elevates serum values of high-density lipoproteins (which is “healthy” cholesterol).

Moreover, weight training is one of the most effective ways to increase insulin sensitivity. This essentially means that your body is more efficient at utilizing carbohydrates for energy and assisting the muscle-building process, as opposed to storing them and being converted to adipose tissue.

If you want to enjoy some sugary treats without feeling guilty, hit the iron and indulge a bit!

6. Improves mental health

Many females foray into the gym because they find themselves depressed with the way they look and end up doing tons of cardio to fix the issue. Instead, these women would be much better off grabbing a barbell and letting out some of their worries on the iron. Along with the points alluded to in Reason #4, chronic weight training has been shown to greatly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in a plethora of studies. Most females will find along the continuum of their training that lifting really does improve your body image and self-esteem.

The actual process of building your physique is much like carving a sculpture. Enjoy every rep of your training and soon you will have your masterpiece.

7. Bone health improves

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are becoming more and more common in females (both young and old), which can likely be attributed to physical inactivity and lack of load-bearing exercises. Weight-bearing exercise in particular provides mechanical stimuli or “loading” important for the maintenance and improvement of bone health, whereas physical inactivity has been implicated in loss of bone density. In fact, low bone mass is a major risk factor for fractures in females, and one of the most effective ways to reverse degeneration of bones is to consistently train with weights; studies suggest it is quite a bit more effective than aerobic exercise as well.

Take-home point is that if you want to keep your bones healthy and strong, choose the weights over the treadmill… you’ll thank yourself down the road.

8. Improves libido

If you’re somewhat familiar with female endocrinology, you hopefully know that estrogen is the primary sex hormone they produce. However, women also produce small amounts of testosterone (the primary male sex hormone) and it appears that boosting testosterone levels in females improves their sex drive and well-being.
Weight training is one of the most effective ways to naturally elevate testosterone levels in both males and females. Hopefully females don’t take this to mean they will suddenly get all hairy and grow a beard just because they hit the iron a few times a week, because that is certainly far from what will happen. The slight elevation in testosterone levels that can be achieved via weight training will serve to enhance your sex life and keep you in a positive mood.

Contrarily, long-duration cardio (over 1 hour) may do just the opposite and decrease testosterone levels.

9. Better sleep quality

Females should aim for 6-8 hours of sleep per night, and they often fall short of this range due to things like stress and poor mood. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a sustained exercise regimen incorporating vigorous weight training can greatly improve sleep quality and the duration of sleep episodes. In fact, weight training provides an effective natural alternative to pharmaceutical interventions in patients with insomnia.

Don’t be afraid to pump some iron if you just can’t get to sleep at night, it will knock you out (literally).

10. Weight training with heavy resistance, WILL NOT make females bulky; it will empower them!

One of the most annoying myths that pervades gyms everywhere is the idea that females who train with relatively heavy weights will suddenly transform into the female equivalent of The Incredible Hulk. Reality is that females should train with heavy weights just like their male counterparts often do and no it won’t make you “bulky” and deepen your voice.

If a female really wanted to get “bulky” they would have to eat like a pig and put in years of intense training just like any other person, regardless their gender, would have to… nobody just blows up their muscle size by accident.

Summing it up

So there you have it, 10 of the top reasons females should stop fearing weights and give the cardio room a break. Of course it would be remiss not to mention that some cardio is worthwhile in almost any female’s exercise regimen, but weight training should be the focus; don’t worry, you won’t magically get “bulky” overnight just because you start lifting more.

You’ll just have sexier curves and a lean body… that’s not so bad, is it?

Enter The Fat Burning Zone

The information presented in this article is from the Women’s 12 Week Shred Transformation Pack.

If you’re looking to improve your body composition and stay lean, check out the Women’s 12 Week Shred Transformation Pack. The program has been designed to help eliminate the guesswork and offer you training and nutrition principles that have worked time and time again. It will help you develop as a lifter and gain an insight into the underlying principles behind WHY things work and how to go about them in the most effective manner. Gone are the days of the ‘perfect’ meal plan – The Simplyshredded 12 Week Shred Program offers you the ability to become the master of your own diet.

Even though most women know they should be lifting, a number of factors inhibit the urge to actually cross over the threshold of the weight-room floor—which isn’t just disappointing, but bad for their health.

So how can we convince women to buy in to the idea of committing to the iron jungle?

John Kotter and Lorne Whitehead have a tremendous book, “Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea From Getting Shot Down,” about the concept of getting others to buy into an idea. Kotter and Whitehead provide four reasons why a magnificent idea (see: strength-training) gets shut down:

Death by delay

Fear-mongering

Confusion

Character assassination

Let’s look at how these issues are often at play in women’s heads when it comes to strength-training.

Death by Delay: We are great at finding a good reason to put off obligations… until Monday/after exams/once we get past the holidays. This can be a never-ending cycle, Because a “good time” is never going to knock on the door and offer us Girl Scout cookies. The good news is that we can create “a good time.”

The more we put off strength-training, the more our muscles, hormones and mind-set get stuck in the same old comfy rut. It doesn’t get easier. On top of that, women reach our peak bone mass in our 30s, which means fighting an uphill against osteoporosis going forward.

Don’t delay. The time to start is now.

Fear-mongering:There can be a lot of fear when starting to lift weights. Fear of the unknown or looking like you have no idea what you are doing is something I often hear from clients, and that’s something that gets its own section, below.

In the meantime, we also might have a lingering fear of being watched or judged by others. I understand, but really, most people are either too focused on themselves to notice you or are praying you won’t take the piece of equipment they want to use. But to be safe, here is a list ofgym etiquette rules.

If someone if making your feel uncomfortable, please alert the gym staff and they will handle it… because that’s not cool. The gym setting shouldn’t be unlike any other public setting. Think of the grocery store. Yes, there is a chance someone is looking at you and your cart, but so what? You need food and you need the benefits from strength-training.

Fear of other’s sweat and grossness? Valid. But most gyms have antibacterial spray and paper towels everywhere —which is better than most public settings. Just sayin’.

Confusion: Back to the fear of not knowing what to do. I highly recommend hiring a personal trainer, even for a couple sessions, to show you the ropes. Some gyms even offer a complimentary training session or orientation to the facility. The money you invest in your health early on will save you from doctor’s bills in the future, so it’s a positive return on your investment. If working with a trainer isn’t possible, here are some basic moves I put together to get started

Character Assassination: This one is a heart-breaker, but I’ve seen it too many times before. It’s when women doubt themselves and their ability to reach their goals despite previous accomplishments or even before making any attempt. You might not believe you can be successful and that you don’t deserve to be on the weight-room floor. Well, consider this your personal invitation… because you do have a place among the bars, bells and cables.

Need more of boost? Again, I recommend a session or two with a trainer to affirm that you are capable of being “Queen of the Iron Throne.”Aside from that, tap into the power of friends, family, social media or Beyoncé to encourage you to slay. It is essential to be your own cheerleader, rather than your enemy.

With all the benefits of strength-training, it’s time to quit talking yourself out of this wonderful process. Address your concerns and excuses, then move on. You’ll be glad you bought into this idea.

P.S. To crush any lingering concerns: You won’t bulk up, unless you’ve been blessed with the genetics of Xena Warrior Princess.